<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
 "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html>
<head>
  <link rel="stylesheet" media="screen" type="text/css" href="./style.css" />
  <link rel="stylesheet" media="screen" type="text/css" href="./design.css" />
  <link rel="stylesheet" media="print" type="text/css" href="./print.css" />

  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
</head>
<body>
<div class="dokuwiki export">

<p>
<em>Translations of this page are also available in the following languages:</em> <a href="geda-faq-pcb.ru.html" class="wikilink1" title="geda-faq-pcb.ru.html">Русский</a>.
</p>

<h2 class="sectionedit1"><a name="pcb_faq" id="pcb_faq">pcb FAQ</a></h2>
<div class="level2">

</div>
<!-- EDIT1 SECTION "pcb FAQ" [110-130] -->
<h3 class="sectionedit2"><a name="what_is_pcb" id="what_is_pcb">What is pcb ?</a></h3>
<div class="level3">

<p>
“pcb” is software to help you draw (“lay out”) the wires for a custom “printed wire board” (“PCB”).
</p>

</div>
<!-- EDIT2 SECTION "What is pcb ?" [131-256] -->
<h3 class="sectionedit3"><a name="how_do_i_install_pcb" id="how_do_i_install_pcb">How do I install pcb?</a></h3>
<div class="level3">

<p>
See <a href="geda-installation.html" class="wikilink1" title="geda-installation.html">installation</a>.
</p>

</div>
<!-- EDIT3 SECTION "How do I install pcb?" [257-316] -->
<h3 class="sectionedit4"><a name="how_do_i_learn_more_about_pcb" id="how_do_i_learn_more_about_pcb">How do I learn more about PCB?</a></h3>
<div class="level3">
<ul>
<li class="level1"><div class="li"> <a href="http://www.delorie.com/pcb/docs/" class="urlextern" title="http://www.delorie.com/pcb/docs/"  rel="nofollow">http://www.delorie.com/pcb/docs/</a></div>
</li>
<li class="level1"><div class="li"> <img src="images/smileys/fixme.gif" class="middle" alt="FIXME" />: <em>more needed</em></div>
</li>
</ul>

</div>
<!-- EDIT4 SECTION "How do I learn more about PCB?" [317-426] -->
<h3 class="sectionedit5"><a name="how_many_layers_does_pcb_support" id="how_many_layers_does_pcb_support">How many layers does PCB support?</a></h3>
<div class="level3">

<p>
“Out-of-the-box”, pcb supports 16 copper layers.  It has been patched by some users to support more, however.
</p>

</div>
<!-- EDIT5 SECTION "How many layers does PCB support?" [427-583] -->
<h3 class="sectionedit6"><a name="is_it_true_that_pcb_has_no_way_to_make_a_mechanical_layer_to_show_the_physical_outline_of_the_board_and_its_dimensions" id="is_it_true_that_pcb_has_no_way_to_make_a_mechanical_layer_to_show_the_physical_outline_of_the_board_and_its_dimensions">Is it true that pcb has no way to make a &quot;mechanical layer&quot; to show the physical outline of the board and its dimensions ?</a></h3>
<div class="level3">

<p>
No. Lines on a layer with layer name <code>outline</code> will be interpreted as physical edges of the board. Also see <a href="geda-pcb_tips.html#how_do_i_make_a_board_outline_to_go_with_my_gerbers_to_the_board_maker" class="wikilink1" title="geda-pcb_tips.html">this note</a> in the more comprehensive <a href="geda-pcb_tips.html" class="wikilink1" title="geda-pcb_tips.html">PCB tips</a>
</p>

</div>
<!-- EDIT6 SECTION "Is it true that pcb has no way to make a mechanical layer to show the physical outline of the board and its dimensions ?" [584-970] -->
<h3 class="sectionedit7"><a name="how_do_i_design_a_pcb" id="how_do_i_design_a_pcb">How do I design a PCB?</a></h3>
<div class="level3">

<p>
This is well beyond the scope of this <acronym title="Frequently Asked Questions">FAQ</acronym>.
There are a few tips at
</p>
<ul>
<li class="level1"><div class="li"> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printed circuit board" class="interwiki iw_wp" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printed circuit board">Printed circuit board</a></div>
</li>
<li class="level1"><div class="li"> <a href="http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Practical_Electronics/PCB_Layout" class="urlextern" title="http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Practical_Electronics/PCB_Layout"  rel="nofollow">http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Practical_Electronics/PCB_Layout</a></div>
</li>
</ul>

</div>
<!-- EDIT7 SECTION "How do I design a PCB?" [971-1170] -->
<h3 class="sectionedit8"><a name="yes_but_how_do_i_design_a_pcb_with_pcb" id="yes_but_how_do_i_design_a_pcb_with_pcb">Yes, but how do I design a PCB with pcb?</a></h3>
<div class="level3">

<p>
Generally, you start with a schematic, run gsch2pcb to generate the netlist.
See <a href="geda-faq-gsch2pcb.html" class="wikilink1" title="geda-faq-gsch2pcb.html">FAQ-gsch2pcb</a>. Then you might go through the <a href="geda-gsch2pcb_tutorial.html" class="wikilink1" title="geda-gsch2pcb_tutorial.html">gsch2pcb tutorial</a>
</p>

<p>
Then you … Hey, did you know about the <a href="http://pcb.geda-project.org/pcb-cvs/pcb.html" class="urlextern" title="http://pcb.geda-project.org/pcb-cvs/pcb.html"  rel="nofollow">PCB manual</a>, the <a href="geda-pcb_tips.html" class="wikilink1" title="geda-pcb_tips.html">PCB tips</a>, and the <a href="geda-pcb-quick_reference.html" class="wikilink1" title="geda-pcb-quick_reference.html">PCB-quick reference</a>?
</p>

</div>
<!-- EDIT8 SECTION "Yes, but how do I design a PCB with pcb?" [1171-1527] -->
<h3 class="sectionedit9"><a name="what_about_footprints" id="what_about_footprints">What about footprints?</a></h3>
<div class="level3">

<p>
See <a href="geda-pcb_footprints.html" class="wikilink1" title="geda-pcb_footprints.html">PCB footprints</a>.
</p>

<p>
There are also some unofficial gEDA footprints at Open Circuits <a href="http://opencircuits.com/PCB_Footprints" class="urlextern" title="http://opencircuits.com/PCB_Footprints"  rel="nofollow">http://opencircuits.com/PCB_Footprints</a>.
</p>

</div>
<!-- EDIT9 SECTION "What about footprints?" [1528-1690] -->
<h3 class="sectionedit10"><a name="i_had_a_hard_time_to_find_info_on_pcb_due_its_ambigous_name_why_don_t_you_rename_the_app" id="i_had_a_hard_time_to_find_info_on_pcb_due_its_ambigous_name_why_don_t_you_rename_the_app">I had a hard time to find info on pcb due its ambigous name. Why don&#039;t you rename the app?</a></h3>
<div class="level3">

<p>
The application is a fairly old project, with roots way back in the era of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari" class="interwiki iw_wp" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari">Atari home computers</a>. Its name has always been “pcb”. The current developers have no intention to break that tradition.
</p>

</div>
<!-- EDIT10 SECTION "I had a hard time to find info on pcb due its ambigous name. Why don't you rename the app?" [1691-2001] -->
<h3 class="sectionedit11"><a name="is_there_any_relation_between_the_geda_pcb_and_the_opencircuitdesign_pcb" id="is_there_any_relation_between_the_geda_pcb_and_the_opencircuitdesign_pcb">Is there any relation between the gEDA PCB and the opencircuitdesign PCB?</a></h3>
<div class="level3">

<p>
<span class="curid"><a href="geda-faq-pcb.html" class="wikilink1" title="geda-faq-pcb.html"> gEDA PCB</a></span> and <a href="http://opencircuitdesign.com/pcb/" class="urlextern" title="http://opencircuitdesign.com/pcb/"  rel="nofollow"> opencircuitdesign PCB</a> ?
</p>

<p>
Same thing, different generations.
</p>

</div>
<!-- EDIT11 SECTION "Is there any relation between the gEDA PCB and the opencircuitdesign PCB?" [2002-] --></div>
</body>
</html>
